Simple Vegetarian Dinner

Stir fried organic mushrooms

1 pkg Organic white beech mushrooms
1 pkg Organic brown beech mushrooms
1 pkg Organic Oyster mushrooms
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/2  tsp Salt
1 tsp Oyster sauce

Clean mushrooms and trim them.  Cut Oyster mushrooms into bite size.
In a saute pan over medium heat, add olive oil.  When the OO becomes shimmering, add the mushrooms and stir to coat with olive oil all over.  Stir fry 40 seconds, add salt and oyster sauce, stir fry for 40 sec more.  Done.

 

Stir fried "Ching Tsai" (Mandarine) or aka "BOK CHOI" (Cantonese) with organic Tofu (Thai spicy). 
1 full stalk of Bok Choi - wash and clean well with salt water
1 cake Organic Thai spicy flavor firm Tofu from Organic section
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 clove smashed  garlic
Salt to taste

Wash and clean bok choi well under running water as separating each stem off the root stalk.  Place in bowl with salt water to clean further.  Rinse off.  Cut the bottom part of the tough stem off.  Cut into 3 inch chunks.   Set aside. 
Open the Tofu package and slice one of the cake into strips.
Heat the Wok over a medium heat.

When the oil shimmers, add the vegetable.
Stir veges all around to coat well with olive oil.  Cover the wok with lid - cook for 1 min.  Check the white stem section of the bok choi for tenderness.  When the white stalk part is tender, add garlic and salt to taste. Stir  fry for 30 sec.  Done

Stir fry Zucchini and Eggplants

1 homegrown small zucchini, peeled and cut into 2 in
4 Japanese Eggplants cut in diagonal chunks
1 homegrown fresh chilies
2 cloves chopped garlic
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
Salt to taste
 2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce
2 tsp sugar
 1 to 2 tsp vinegar

Place the cut up eggplants on a microwaveable plate and add 1 Tbsp of water and cover with microwaveable lid.   Microwave for 3 minutes.  Uncover and check for tenderness.  Stir.
Microwave for 1 more minute.  Check.
Over medium high heat, add 2 Tbsp Olive Oil, when the oil starts to shimmer, add egg plants and stir to mix with oil well, add zucchini, and stir fry for 1 min.  Add soy sauce and sugar.  Taste, add salt to taste. Adjust taste accordingly.  Stir fry 30 more seconds.  Done.

 

My Grandson's iFLY Birthday Cake 2012

 All the lift for this chiffon cake depends soley with the well beaten meringue.

 

The real challenge is to assemble all this in the back of my Prius at 90'F outside temp and take it into Fudruckers where the party was going on.  It got done, though.
It was a difficult decision as to how to elevate the fondant figurines to give that floating effect.  Maybe the white frosting or the blue frosting would be better?  naaa,,,,  it worked.

 Seven cones to represent seven candles.

 I really had fun making it. 

My Greek PSOMI Bread

I finally ordered the Culinaria - Greece.   Not only does it contain wealth of information about Greece, it's culture and people, it contains wonderful recipes.    PSOMI is a Greek bread recipe that got my attention.   I added Fresh Black Cherries and homemade Almond Paste, Kalamata olives, and walnuts.   The bread turned out wonderfully tasty.    The original recipe is intended for the plain bread, but I have so much wonderful ingredients in the pantry, and I got tempted to add them.   They turned out great.

 Two different portions.
Kalamata Olives, Almond Paste, and Walnuts.

Fresh Black Cherries, Almond Paste.

 Let it rise side by side in a large loaf pan with another loaf pan as a cover.

 The secret!! when you bake the bread this way, you don't need to Spray the oven with water bottle to create the STEAM!.   It's taken care of by the cover on the top!

 When the bread is taken out.  The top crust is very hard. 

 Let it sit for about 15 minutes.   The steam from inside the bread soften the outer crust to a nice formed crust as the bread cools.